Environment

Summer heat will build across the commonwealth this week, climaxing in some triple-digit readings Friday. The National Weather Service predicts highs that day of 105 degrees in Paducah, 103 degrees in Owensboro and 102 degrees in Hopkinsville and Mayfield. Sunny days and little chance of rain are forecast for the entire week all across Kentucky.

The Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Committee is moving ahead with plans to support possible legislation increasing the speed limit on US 68/KY 80 to 65 mph. 

The Land Between the Lakes Nature Station has delighted visitors for many years with events such as nature hikes and its Hummingbird Festival. But now, some officials behind those events are using pop culture to boost interest. Casey Northcutt reports on their quirky mixture of wildlife and television that turned the Nature Station into the “Nature Stadium.”

A new study shows black lung disease isn’t limited to just coal miners who work underground.  Studies for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis—or black lung disease—haven’t been done on surface miners in a decade, and the miners were commonly thought to be less at risk for the disease than underground workers. 

Wild fires are scorching hundreds of square miles in several western states of the U.S.  While parts of Kentucky are experiencing severe drought, the risk of similar fires in the commonwealth is relatively small.

Officials say Sunday's rain was not enough to counter the effects of drought on Barkley and Kentucky lakes. National Weather Service meteorologists report the region's rainfall is about 11 inches below the average.